Hair clipper



Sept. 17, 1935. v I J. DEAN 2,014,882

HAI'R CLIPPER Filed Oct. 26, 1932 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 HAIR CLIPPERJohn Dean, Racine, Wis., assignor to John Oster Manufacturing Company,Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 26, 1932,Serial No. 639,700

8 Claims.

This invention relates to hair clippers, and the objects and nature ofthe invention will be understood by those skilled in the art in light ofthe following explanations of the accompanying 6 drawing that illustratewhat I now believe to be the preferred mechanical expression orembodiment of the invention from among other forms and constructionswithin the spirit and scope thereof.

10 An object of the invention is to provide a hair clipper with apeculiarly efficient and advantageous guard, more or less readilyattachable to and detachable from the clipper, and of particularadvantage and utility in protecting the skin against scratching and/orabrasion when the clipper combined with the guard is manipulated andheld by either hand of the user in removing hair from depressed portionsof hollows of the human body, such as from the arm pits, as well aselsewhere, and a further object of the invention is to provide simplemeans for guarding the front corners of the bottom or comb plates ofhairclippers, attachable to and detachable from the hair clippers, andembodying features and more or less resiliency whereby such guardingmeans can be placed under more or less tension to exert upward pull onthe front end of the bottom or comb plate, and thereby maintain orincrease the tension or pressure of the cutting teeth of the comb platetoward and with respect to the cutting teeth of the movable or upperblade; and from a more specific standpoint, to provide an attachable anddetachable guard for the front end corners of the fixed or comb plate ofhair clippers,

capable of being confined to the hair clipper through the medium of thehair clipper tension stud or bolt and its adjusting nut under theinfluence of its spring or tension element, whereby the tension orpressure of the guard on the comb plate can be controlled and varied.With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists incertain novel features in structure, formation, arrangement and/ or incombination as more fully and particularly described and specifiedhereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, forming part hereof:

Fig. l is a top plan of a hand hair clipper equipped with an embodimentof a guard of my invention, the handle being partially broken away, thetension nut and spring washer not being shown.

Fig. 2 shows the clipper of Fig. 1, its side ele- ,vation, the tensionnut and spring washer being shown in operative positions.

away and the clipper tension nut and. spring 5.

washer not being shown.

Fig. 4 shows the clipper and guard in Fig. 3 in side elevation with theclipper tension nut and spring washer in place.

Fig. 5 shows a detached perspective of the guard. 10'

In Figs. 3 and 4, of the drawing, I show a type of hand hair clipper,common to the market, that includes a cap I, having a handle 2, rigidtherewith, while pivotal operating handle 3, is swingable toward andfrom the fixed handle 2, on a ver- 15' tical axis located within theclipper head to reciprocate the relatively small upper blade 4, formedat its front edge with a straight row 5, of forwardly projecting cutterteeth that cooperate with the complementary forwardly projecting 20cutting teeth forming a relatively long straight row 6, across the frontedge of the relatively large main bottom on comb 1, said row 6, of teethbeing located between the front corners 8 of said comb plate. ,5

The two cutter plates 4, I, and the cap I, are held together inoperative assembled arrangement by the tension bolt or stud 9, and itstop exposed adjusting nut III, above the cap and preferably bearing downon a spring washer or tension 30 washer I I, located on the bolt 9, andbetween the cap I and nut I0 and adapted to be distorted under tensionby the downward pressure of the nut, to maintain the desired operativetension or pressure on the rows 5, 6, of complementary cut- 5 tingteeth, as is common in hair clippers of this type, and will beunderstood without a detail explanation of the common relativeformations and arrangements of the cap, blades and tension bolt.

In clippers of this general type, the tension bolt 40 9, is usuallyrigid with the comb plate, or passes upwardly therethrough with its headcountersunk in the underside of said plate, and extends upwardly looselyor removably through a hole in the top of the cap I, and projects abovethe cap 5 to receive the nut I0, and spring washer II.

The hair clipper of Figs. 1 and 2, embodies the cutting plates and theirrows of teeth, as disclosed by Figs. 3 and 4, as well as the tensionbolt, its adjusting nut and spring washer, as disclosed by 50 Fig. 4.The cap Ia, of Figs. 1 and 2, functions in so far as my presentinvention is concerned, the sameas the cap I, ofFigs. 3 and 4, althoughin one piece with a rearwardly extending rigid straight handle lb, thatcarries the finger oper- 55' ated means for reciprocating the uppercutter blade.

With hair clippers of these general, as well as other types, there is aconstant tendency to or danger of skin scratching, abrasion or injury by.the front corners of the comb plates even though smoothed, beveled,and/or rounded, under certain conditions, and particularly whereoperating on some parts of the human body that are more or lessinaccessible or difiicult to reach, even where the clipper is guided andoperated by either the right or the left hand.

The purpose of this invention is to provide hair clippers with a simpleguard that will correct this difficulty and can be easily applied to aclipper when hair is to be clipped in a more or less inaccessiblelocation where there is danger of skin injury, while such danger isnegligible in clipping hair from the head.

The clipper guard shown as an example from among other forms andstructures that embody my invention, is composed of thin resilient orspring metal and embodies an elevated center or base l5, adapted to reston the approximately flat top of the cap I, or la, and having a centralslot l6, opening through its rear edge and extending forwardly to aboutthe center of the base and formed to receive the portion of the tensionbolt projecting upwardly above the cap, and a pair of downwardlyinclined and forwardly diverging arms IT, at their front free endsformed rigid with rounded blunt or spherical knobs or heads l8, thedownwardly projecting rounded portions of which are formed withrearwardly opening slots [8a, to receive and slip rearwardly on thehereinbefore described front corners of the comb plate, so that saidcorners will be from the front entirely covered by and enclosed withinsaid knobs l8, projecting below, above and in front of said corners andpresenting smooth rounded surfaces wherever contact with the skin ispossible. The guard can be applied to a hair clipper when the tensionnut is loosened by unscrewing on its tension bolt, by slipping the baseor center plate of the guard rearwardly along the top of the clipper capbeneath the spring or tension washer to straddle the tension bolt untilthe front wall of the slot in said guard base or center strikes thebolt. While the guard is thus being slipped onto the tension bolt, theheads or rounded knobs of the diverging arms are held to slip rearwardlyonto the front corners of the comb plate to project laterally beyond theends of said plate and thus cover the corners at the end edges of thecomb plate as well as above, below and at the front.

The center plate or base of the guard rests on the top face of theclipper cap preferably with a rocking fit or in such manner as to rockon a transverse axis to elevate the forwardly diverging guard arms andthrough the medium of the front guard knobs of said arms that areinterlocked with the comb plate corners, to exert upward pressure onsaid comb plate, when the tension nut on the tension bolt is screweddown to clamp the guard to the cap. This upward pressure on the combplate increases the hair cutting tension between the rows ofcomplementary comb plate and blade cutting teeth and tends to cuttingefiiciency which can be controlled by variation in the pressure of theadjusting nut and tension washer on the guard base or center as well asby the tension of the tension bolt, and nut in bodily drawing the capand comb plate toward each other.

This rocking bearing of the guard on the clipper cap can be provided byconvexing the bottom bearing surface 20, of the guard center plate orbase by inclining the same upwardly and rearwardly. When the guard hasbeen slipped into place on the clipper cap and into operativeinterlocking and guarding position covering the comb plate corners, thetension nut of the clipper is screwed down on the tension or springwasher to clamp the guard in operative position under the desiredtension applying lifting pressure to the front corners of the combplate. This lifting pressure of the front guard knobs on the comb platecorners also cooperates with the clamping action of the washer and nuton the guard base or center ring, to maintain the guard in operativeposition on the clipper.

The guard can be readily removed from the clipper, whenever desirable,by loosening the tension nut, to permit forward slipping of the guard Afree from the tension bolt and the comb plate corners. Whereupon, thetension nut can be screwed down to operative position to press the combplate and blade together under the required tension for hair cutting.The essential characteristic of my solution of this hair clipperproblem, that requires the close hair clipping necessary for the removalof surplus hair and the effective guarding of the comb teeth 6, and thesharp front ends and outer side edges of the comb plate, against skinpuncturing and abrasion, resides in the provision of two end guard knobsthat project forwardly beyond the plane of the line in which theunobstructed sharp points of teeth 6, termi nate to afford said teethfull and free functioning in close hair clipping, with these guard knobslocated on and approximately covering and enclosing the two thin sharpfront end corners, respectively, of the comb plate to guard the sharpthin front and outer side edges of said corners against contact with theskin by the provision of exterior covering curved or bulgingnonabrading, non-scratching, non-puncturing skin contacting surfacesbeyond the front and end edges of the comb plate as well as below thebottom surface of the comb plate front corners, and this withoutlimitation to any particular means for or method of combining the guardknobs and comb plate in operative relationship to function as requiredby my invention. In carrying my successful solution of the problem intoactual practice, I prefer to construct the guard knobs separately fromthe comb plate, and apply the same to operative positions on the combplate corners after such plate has been assembled with the other partsto complete the hair clipper, and I also prefer to provide means wherebythe said guard knobs and the comb plate are detachably held together inoperative relationship, to permit removal of the guard knobs when theclipper is to be used for trimming the hair on the neck or head, andparticularly to permit sharpening after it has been detached from theclipper. The comb plate is sharpened by lapping its top surfacescompletely across the front row of teeth and corners.

The front bulges of the two guard knobs, when operatively arranged onthe comb plate corners, project forwardly beyond the straight line inwhich the points of the teeth 6, terminate; and hence, said two guardknobs cooperate in preventing skin puncture or scratching by the pointsof teeth 6, should the clipper be pressed, cutting teeth forward againstthe skin of the arm pit; and the same is true of the downward bulges ofthe guard knobs, below said comb plate corners,- all while permittingthe row of exposed sharp teeth to function in very close hair clipping.The diverging arms extend downwardly and forwardly above or in front ofthe clipper cap and above and spaced from the ends of the comb plate, sothat in the particular example shown, there is operative contact betweenthe clipper and guard only at the base or center of the guard and at theknobs where the guard interlocks with the front corners of the combplate.

When the guard is in operative position on the clipper, the dependingrounded portions of the spherical guard knobs, shown as an example butnot as a limitation, will depress the skin without damaging or abradingthe same and without interfering with the cutting operation. However, Ido not wish to limit my invention to any particular spherical or otherform of these knobs or guard ends, so long as guards are provided atthese points to interlock with the objectionable comb plate corners andperform the protecting functions of my invention, nor do I wish to limitall features of my invention to the diverging arm formation.

What I claim is:

1. A hair clipper guard embodying a base adapted to be clamped on theclipper cap and having a bottom rocking surface to engage said cap androck thereon when the base is clamped thereto, and means carried by saidbase and provided with front heads to fit above and below and shield thefront corners of the clipper comb plate and apply upward pressurethereto when said base is rocked.

2. A hair clipper guard attachable to the clipper and removabletherefrom as a unit, and embodying a base inclined upwardly andrearwardly, resilient arms diverging forwardly from said base and attheir front ends formed to slip over and shield the front corners of theclipper comb plate and project under, above and in front of saidcorners.

3. A pair of approximately spherical heads adapted to slip onto andapproximately cover the opposite front end corners, respectively, of thecomb plate of a hair clipper, to shield said corners against injuriouscontact with the skin, and a holder carrying and spacing said heads,said heads and the holder being applicable to and removable from thehair clipper and its comb plate corners as a unit.

4. Means for shielding the front end corners of the comb plate of a hairclipper embodying a holder adapted to be removably secured down on theclipper cap by the tension bolt and its nut, said holder carrying andprovided with a'pair of tively, and providing bulging exterior guardsurfaces in front of and below said front end corners and exteriorly ofthe end edges thereof.

6. A hair clipper having cutting mechanism embodying a comb plate havinga row of cutting teeth and corners at the opposite ends thereof, andguard knobs operatively arranged on said corners, with the cutting teethexposed and unobstructed between said knobs to promote close haircutting, said knobs projecting forwardly beyond the plane in which thepoints of said teeth terminate to protect the skin against damage, saidknobs providing bulging surfaces to ride on and protect the skin and, byengagement with the skin, to prevent the intervening row of exposedtooth points injuriously contacting the skin, and means whereby saidknobs and the comb plate are detachably held together in operativerelation and whereby the knobs are rendered attachable and detachable.

7. A hair clipper having cutting mechanism including a toothed bladehaving sharp end corners and guard knobs applicable to and operativelyarranged on said corners and providing exterior skin contacting andprotecting surfaces bulging exteriorly over, below and in front of saidcorners and exteriorly of the end edges thereof.

8. A guard for the end corners of the toothed edge of a blade of a hairclipper cutting mechanism, embodying knobs for said corners,respectively, adapted to approximately enclose the same and providingskin contacting and protecting surfaces projecting exteriorly of the endedges of the corners and forwardly in front of said corners and upwardlyand downwardly above and below the same, and means for detachablyholding said knobs in operative position on said corners and wherebysaid knobs are rendered attachable to and detachable from said blade,with the cutting teeth uncovered for close hair cutting and the knobsprojecting forwardly to abut the skin and hold back the uncovered toothpoints against skin injury.

JOHN DEAN.

